The pontifical apartment in the Apostolic Palace, uninhabited since 2013, is finally ready to receive Leo XIV. According to Il Tempo, the restoration works—complex and prolonged—have been completed and the Pope will move there in January, returning the papal residence to its traditional function after Francis’s exceptional stay in Santa Marta.
From the “poor” 60 m² apartment to the complex of more than 300 m²
The Italian newspaper recalls that Jorge Mario Bergoglio never occupied the papal apartment, preferring to live in the Casa Santa Marta, a building renovated by John Paul II in the 1990s to house cardinals during conclaves. For years, the official narrative presented this choice as a gesture of austerity. However, recently revealed financial documents showed that Francis progressively occupied the entire second floor of the building, creating a large complex of more than 300 m² with a private chapel, several rooms, kitchen, and dining room.
The maintenance cost amounted to about 200,000 euros monthly, between additional staff, security, and facility conservation, while the Apostolic Palace remained unused.
A scene of abandonment upon opening the seals of the papal apartment
After the election of Leo XIV, the new pontiff found an apartment in very deteriorated conditions. According to Il Tempo, the kitchen renovated during Benedict XVI’s time had been completely dismantled; roof leaks had damaged the electrical systems; and the “soffittoni”—the small apartments intended for papal secretaries—were covered in mold and uninhabitable due to twelve years without maintenance.
Leo XIV, who since his election has been residing provisionally in his former apartment in the Palace of the Holy Office, ordered an immediate comprehensive restoration. The works, however, have been extended due to the Pope’s intense diplomatic activity, who every morning receives heads of state, ambassadors, and Curia officials in the Private Library.
An Augustinian community will accompany the Pope in his residence
Among the works carried out, Il Tempo highlights the construction of small studios for an Augustinian religious community that will live alongside the Pope, a decision consistent with his spiritual identity and the lifestyle he has wished to maintain since the beginning of his pontificate.
The lights of the Apostolic Palace will turn on again
If no unforeseen events arise, at the beginning of January the Romans will once again see the third floor of the Apostolic Palace illuminated, an image absent since the end of Benedict XVI’s pontificate. With Leo XIV’s move, the pontifical apartment will recover its historical function after more than a decade of exceptional circumstances.